Description:
If you were told there was a killer in your basement, you'd be legitimately concerned. Scientists have uncovered a virus living peacefully inside us that may strike out at us when our guard is down, but nobody seems to be listening. Potentially linked to such poorly understood diseases as multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and AIDS, this member of the herpes family (HHV-6) is thoroughly examined in science journalist Nicholas Regush's The Virus Within. Unfortunately, little is known at present, in part because of the personality-driven nature of research funding; struggling scientists must compete with big names like Robert Gallo for attention and dollars. Regush follows the careers of Donald Carrigan and Konnie Knox, medical virologists trying to learn more about HHV-6 while at the same time informing their unconcerned colleagues about its threat. While the book is a bit too easy on the Peter Duesberg-led charge against the HIV hypothesis of AIDS, it makes the point well that the scientific community, spurred on by clueless funders, is too quick to crystallize around one way of thinking about disease. This may be more a important issue than the threat of HHV-6--even if we do expand our research focus to include this likely killer, we haven't reached the root of the problem. How long will it take these voices in the wilderness to find sympathetic ears, and how long will it take the next scientific prophets to make themselves heard? Perhaps, if enough of us read The Virus Within, we can heed their warnings while there's still time to act. --Rob Lightner
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